Presidential inauguration marks America’s rebirth
Poetry, fireworks and music usher in Obama’s new term
WASHINGTON Every four — years, Americans celebrate a new dawn.
They dust off their poets. They flex their vocal cords against the strains of national and patriotic anthems. Musicians tune their brass. Marching bands practise their steps. Soldiers polish their boots. The nation raises yet more flags and festoons its buildings with crinkled bunting. Fireworks are put at the ready. And millions of citizens prepare to witness the pageantry.
No democracy in the world celebrates a new government — even when it’s a reaffirmation of the old — with the same gusto as the United States of America.
Michael Cornfield, a political scientist at George Washington University, said the inauguration of the 44th elected president is a celebration of a peaceful handover of a “powerful constituted, democratically rooted” government.
Yet if that were the case, most democracies would likely indulge in similar festivities. But they don’t. The reason, said one inauguration worker, is that the United States is a country where citizens view their government not just as theirs but as them. It’s a mirror image of their own destiny. “It’s like we are celebrating a new beginning,” she said.
This new beginning is, of course, not for everybody.
The triumphalism is not universal. The nation is not one. Republicans traditionally leave D.C. to the winners, preferring to get out of town and to use the break to plot strategy for the winner’s eventual demise.
Hypocrisy is deeply rooted in the affirmation. The United States is a secular nation, yet presidents swear their oath to uphold the constitution on a Bible and end it with “So help me God” — a practice begun spontaneously by the first U.S. president, George Washington.
On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama will swear his oath not on one Bible or even two, but on three: Abraham Lincoln’s Bible (on loan from the Library of Congress), Martin Luther King Jr.’s Bible, plus the Obama family Bible. It’s considered a record stack in a country that keeps careful track of these historical milestones. And it’s a mighty embrace of America’s Judeo-Christian religion, Cornfield said. (If Mitt Romney had won, would he have sworn his oath on the Book of Mormon? How would that have gone over?)
The swearing-in will fea- ture Texas pop singer Kelly Clarkson singing America (My Country ’tis of Thee), James Taylor singing America the Beautiful and Beyoncé ending the ceremony with the national anthem.
Many Americans, however, will wait with greater anticipation for the words of Obama’s inaugural poet, Richard Blanco. A 44-year-old Cuban immigrant, his poetry is often about his homosexuality, such as his poem Queer Theory: According to my Grandmother: “Avoid hugging men, but if you must/ pat them real hard/ on the back, even/ if it’s your fath- er.” Obama has reportedly asked Blanco to write three poems, from which, no doubt, he’ll select the right one. But what if there isn’t a right one? Well, inaugural poets aren’t a big tradition.
In the end, however, it’s the inaugural speech that counts. Traditionally, it stands as a message not just to the American people but also to the world and perhaps generations beyond. Most important, Cornfield said, will be the tone. Will it promise bold action or conciliation? Will Obama speak in grand universals or single out issues such as gun control or climate change? Will he make promises he cannot keep, as he did in 2009? Will he overreach?
Ten huge balls will follow the parade of marching bands and 203 animals — plus, of course, the president and vice-president — down Pennsylvania Ave. Democrats have to be careful the festivities aren’t too over the top.
The murders of 20 schoolchildren and six of their educators Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn., still cast a dark shadow over America.
“It would be unseemly to be too exuberant,” Cornfield said.